Some of the defendants earned money and valuables in return for allowing their names to be listed as “authorized users” on the compromised banking accounts of victims.

“Once a co-conspirator's name was added as an authorized user, the bank or credit card company was directed to mail additional debit or credit cards bearing the names of these newly-added users to their addresses or addresses under their control, without the true account holder's knowledge or consent,”BankSecurityInfo reports.

Three of the suspects used the cards to make purchases and cash advances worth more than $44,200.